Jephthah & Samson's Rise

Jephthah grows up in Gilead, a fighter tough as stone. But his brothers hate him because his mother was a prostitute. You will never share our father's land! they say, and they drive him out. Jephthah leaves for a wild place called Tob. There, rough and angry men gather around him.

The Ammonites attack Israel. The people cry out to Yahweh. We have sinned! We left you and worshiped other gods! Yahweh answers: Go ask your idols to save you. The people throw their false gods away and turn back to Yahweh with everything they have. He sees their pain. He cares.

The Ammonite army sets up camp in Gilead. Their tents stretch across the land, row after row. Israel gathers its own soldiers at Mizpah. The two armies face each other across the open ground. The air is thick and heavy with fear.

Judg 11:1